Second Chance
by RinTheMagicalGirl
Summary: Cheryl Oakes has been bedridden with an illness that was eating away at her for most of her life, and she had even lost her legs because of it. Then, when she starts to die, but in some miracle or the opposite, she has been taken to the world of Fullmetal Alchemist with her illness gone! Can she get home? Can she even survive? Can she even understand what's going on?
1. A blessing or a curse?

**I decided to try my hand at an o.c. fanfiction. It's not really a self-insert since the character I'm using is almost nothing like me. We just share the same taste in anime. So… uh… enjoy. And this is from first person because I think it'll turn out better that way.**

**I have no clue how this'll go and I probably won't have a direct relationship in this. Just a close bond between characters.**

* * *

><p>The slow, unsteady beep of a heart monitor was one of the only things I could focus on to keep myself conscious. I had been staring at the ceiling for a long time, unable to make out any details since my glasses had been removed, and I was only just barely aware of my surroundings.<p>

I could tell that someone was holding my hand, and that there were many tubes and wires hooked up to my body to supply me with fluids and to keep track of my fading life. Bandages wrapped up what was left of my legs, covering the newly amputated stumps and the swollen, raw flesh that was slowly rotting away. That's where that horrible illness started.

A long time ago I was struck with a disease that I could no longer remember the name of, and ever since then I had been stuck in this white hell of IVs and medicine. I have started middle school by now, but that was something I would never get to experience.

I had been battling this illness for a very long time, and recently someone decided to lop off everything below my knees in hopes that the disease would be cut off with my legs. But they were wrong and it had already spread up to my torso, so now along with that I was dealing with weakness from blood loss. Who the hell gave that idiot a job as doctor!? Things were not going my way and I wouldn't even get to say goodbye to my parents and little brothers. I was too out of it to speak. I decided to go over things that I enjoyed and what I held dear while I still had time. I was close with my father. He'd teach me new things and he'd support me whenever I found something I liked. The last time we were able to talk was an entire year ago. Ever since then I was unable to speak due to exhaustion… I grew depressed, so I changed my thoughts to something more enjoyable. A few things I got joy from were reading manga and watching anime. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood being my favorite. Ed was so cool and bold, and Al was sweet and gentle. I admired them a lot for being able to keep going on even when they had problems and injuries worse than mine. Winry was strong too. All the characters, I just loved how they kept going forwards…

I continued to list things in my mind until something changed. I saw a bright flash, then I heard a very loud noise, then everything went dark. I suppose there was a storm outside. The heart monitor stopped beating, and all the lights surrounding me were just dark. People were shouting something, and I could make out the words "generator" and "blew out", and my senses began to dull. I guess all the tubes and wires and stuff were important, because without them I could feel myself slipping away at an almost unrealistic rate. The pressure on my hand, which had tightened when the lights went out… I could no longer feel it. Just cold and numbness.

Then everything turned white. "Are the lights back on?" I wondered as I blinked a few times. Looking around, I noticed that this was not the hospital room. Even without my glasses I could tell that it was all just white. I felt different… better, I guess. I felt that I could move so I sat up with some effort.

Looking around, I saw a huge gray thing. I recognized it, but just barely, and then I tensed up.

"**Hello."** A legion of voices behind me said, sending chills down my spine and making my blood freeze.

I slowly turned around, awkwardly scooting around on spot and struggling since my most of my legs were gone, and I squinted at the figure before me.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked shakily. The thing was the same color as the white background, and I could only see its fuzzy black outline. It can't be…

"**You are at the Gate of Truth." **It says and I tense up further. **"And who am I? One name you might have for me is The World, or you might call me the Universe, or perhaps God, or perhaps the Truth. I am all and I am one, so of course this also means that I am you."**

And with that I almost completely froze up. "B-but that's from… T-this shouldn't b-be real." I stammer. Honestly, I was half expecting for it to tell me that all this was a dream. After all, I could move and talk like it was completely normal for me. It had to be a dream!

"**This is no dream. You really are here."** It tells me. Darn its voice is creepy!

"Why am I here, then?" I was trying my hardest not to sound as scared as I really am. "I didn't do human transmutation! I'm not even an alchemist. This shouldn't exist!"

"**You are here to fulfill the law of equivalent exchange that somewhat applies to, well, everything." **It tells me. **"And you have also been selected for a… a game of sorts."**

At this point I found that I was too scared to speak. Thoughts were racing around my mind though, like how "equivalent exchange" was bull and that rarely anything was ever equal. The bastard was probably just using that so that it had a bullshit reason to make me play the game!

"**This has happened before, so do not get it into your mind that you are in any way special. There is never perfect equivalence in a human's life, they may receive more than they lose or the reverse. But in your life you gave your time, health, and overall happiness and received almost nothing."** It continues. **"So you are a prime candidate for the game."**

I gulp and gather enough courage to speak. "W-what's the game?" I ask it. I shift my hands back so that I don't have to sit straight up.

Truth grins, and holy crap it was much scarier in real life. Or was this real life? I was half convinced this was a screwed up dream my brain thought up of while I was dying. Still freaky though.

"**You have to figure that out for yourself."** Truth says in a sing-song voice. **"But it does involve two alchemists that I know you're aware of. And you have to get them to trust you, but I'm sure you can handle _that._"**

A knot formed in the pit of my stomach, making me a bit nauseous and nervous. "But h-how can I…" I mutter as I stare at it. I couldn't find the right words and everything was going so fast and my heart wouldn't stop racing. I'm terrified that something bad is going to happen, that I'm going to lose something, but I can't shake the feeling of strange relief mixed dread so I don't speak. I don't want to say anything I might regret or bring up any ways for it to torment me.

"**Well, I'll let you figure out the rest on your own. I think the situation is enough payment for you to go through."** It grins as the Gate opens. **"Oh yes, and if you can find a way to go home you can have a normal life back in your own world, sickness gone and free! But if you don't…"**

I gasp and squirm as the black hands wrap around my arms, torso, and the remains of my legs to pull me into the dark abyss of information. "No! I don't- Ah!" I cry as I try to break away. I could have just died and not had to worry about anything anymore. But now I was being violently yanked into an adventure that I wanted no part of. Favorite anime or not, I didn't want this!

"**Well I'll let you figure that out as well."** Truth finishes as the Gate's doors slam shut with me inside.

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><p>Warmth and softness flooded my senses as I slowly woke up. I didn't bother opening my eyes since I wasn't all the way awake and I still felt heavy with sleep. I took notice of the sound of birds tweeting somewhere and the fresh scent of the room I was in. Somebody was talking somewhere, but I didn't recognize the voice.<p>

Several minutes pass, and I blinked open my eyes. The light was a lot brighter than I was used to, so I squinted until I got used to it. Everything was fuzzy but I could still make out a few things. I was lying on a bed with plain, white or blue sheets; I couldn't make out the exact color in my daze. There was a desk near an open window, and it had multiple objects on it, most of which looked like fuzzy gray blobs. I wish I had my glasses... I looked down at myself. I was wearing a comfy t-shirt and pajama shorts. The bandages on the stumps of my legs were changed too, but they didn't cover all of my legs. I could clearly see the pinkish scar tissue of what used to be the result of my illness. Parts of the scars were white and they snaked upwards, looking something like fire, onto my torso. I'll have to check and see if everything was gone, because just a while ago that was all horrible, dying flesh. Not weird-ass scars.

A low creak of a door opening drew my attention, and I tore my gaze away from the changes to myself to glance at in the direction of the noise. Someone had just entered, so I tried to pretend to be asleep again in a moment of panic.

"I saw your eyes open." The person says. A female voice. "So don't pretend to be asleep."

I blush slightly, then I reconsider my action. If I were in danger, I wouldn't be in a nice fluffy bed, would I be? And so I open my eyes to look at the girl. Blurry as always. I wish I had my glasses.

"So-ah…eee." I struggle to say. My throat was unused and dry, just like it had been back at the hospital… Realization then hits me like a truck. I wasn't at the hospital. My loved ones weren't here. I was in an entirely different world. Anxiety and fear forms in my chest and suddenly found it hard to breath.

"Hey, don't strain yourself!" The girl exclaims as she notices my discomfort. She walks closer and I get a better look at her.

My eyes widened as I noticed that it was Winry. But she was a whole lot younger looking than she was in most of the anime… I think she have noticed that I was staring at her because she returned a funny look.

"Is there something wrong?" She asks. I shake my head and break away from the stare to look at the ceiling instead.

"H-how'd… I g-…" I gulped, trying to speak. Maybe I should have tried talking more back in my world when I had the chance so that my throat wouldn't be so unused… "-eeckt… hrr… mmng." I let out a frustrated growl at the end, and Winry seemed to understand my struggle so she started explaining what happened.

"Well, I found you out in a field near here while I was walking Den. Den is my dog, by the way. You looked like you were in bad shape so I brought you back here. You're not very heavy. Maybe you should eat more… So anyways, um, your legs… They were all bandaged up and, well, when I found you and you were in a hospital gown, so what happened? Or should I wait until you feel better to speak…?"

I had another moment of panic. I couldn't tell her the truth about my situation! She'd never believe me and things were starting to sound like a bad fanfiction, so I decided to make up something…

"I wah… uhb-ahn…uned." I stammer, the words unfamiliar on my tongue. I never liked lying, but hopefully my sore throat will cover up my bad lie. I think she bought it though, because she got a worried look on her face.

"Abandoned? Why would anyone do that!? And to abandon a girl with injuries like yours…" She mutters as she looks in a different direction.

"Hh… U'm a'most as old… as ooh, Wi-" I stopped myself from saying her name, and I covered that up with a different sentence. "Waih… Whuhz… yuh naa-" I stopped to clear my throat. "Name?" I finished another complete word. New milestone, woo-hoo!

"Oh, I'm Winry Rockbell!" She introduces herself. "What's your name?"

"Cher…Cheryl… Oakes." I grunt, pausing between words to swallow and keep my throat from drying. I was getting better at speaking now, the ache leaving my throat. It was replaced by a dry feeling though, which was almost worse. "Can I… haah wa-ter?" Sweet mother of bacon strips this was tedious. I swear, it felt like a cactus was growing right down in my trachea.

Winry nods and gets up. "Yeah, I'll be right back." She says as she heads towards the door.

I watched her leave, then I closed my eyes and went over what has happened. I was going to die, but something happened and I was taken to the Gate where I talked to… Truth, I guess. I was now lying in bed, having just talked to Winry Rockbell, and wasn't in my word anymore. Honestly, I didn't know how to feel about this. Happy, sad? Scared, angry? I'm not sick anymore, I know that much. My legs were still gone, though, and I didn't even have my glasses. Was I alone? What the hell was even going on!? It was too fast paced and I needed things to be slowed down, for crying out loud! Could I even get home?

…

No, I could get through this. I don't need a plan or anything, either. Make it up as I go along… A little planning won't hurt though. I need automail. I need to find Edward and Alphonse. I have to get some goddamn glasses. I have to get home. Those were thoughts that swirled in my head, and I didn't notice Winry was back until she spoke to me.

"Cheryl? Are you listening? I said I got you some water!" She says loudly, snapping me out of my trance. I quickly look at the blonde mechanic, who was sitting on a chair next to my bed. I sit up and take the glass, muttering a quick thank you as I shakily hold it. I must have been a lot weaker than I thought because it was actually pretty hard to even keep my grip on it. After getting a good hold on the glass, I bring it up to my lips and I gratefully gulp the water down. After I was finished, I hand the glass back to Winry and I slide back down into a more comfortable position.

"You were sick, right?" Winry asks me after a moment of silence. "And your legs… is that related to it?"

I nod. "Yeah. I had some really bad disease or something that s-started in my legs… I don't know what it was called… A doctor thought that if my legs were amputated the spread would be cut off." I tell her slowly. "He was wrong… But recently I got better, but…" I stop to think of something. "I guess I was considered a burden and now I'm here. I don't think that my father knew about this, though… It doesn't make sense to me."

Winry blinks, then a mixture of emotions fill her features. "That's horrible." She says, making me feel guilty. I wish I hadn't of lied… "They cut off your legs and leave you defenseless, and then they dump you out here!?" I also found it a bit strange that she believed me so easily. Oh well…

"I don't wanna talk about it…" I mutter. "Hey, what year is it?"

"1912. Why do you ask?" Winry inquired.

"I couldn't exactly keep track of time…" I told her quietly. 1912… To my knowledge, the manga starts around 1914, so… That should be enough time to get automail! But I gotta be smooth about it… Smooth… Jeez, I was going straight into this, wasn't I? Already planning and stuff… Well, no. I wasn't planning. Go with the flow…

"I wish they had just left my legs alone." I grumble. "It didn't do me any good… And it certainly ruined my chances of doing anything _fun_ ever again."

"Why don't you just get automail?" Winry asks carefully.

"I don't have any money." I point out, looking at the window to watch whatever I could see. It wasn't that great though, considering everything looked like a fuzzy mess.

Winry considers this, then her eyes brighten. "I can do it for you for free!" She beams. "It'll hurt though, and you'll definitely owe me."

I smile slightly. "You don't have to. I don't want to be even more of a burden than I already am." I dismiss her casually. Winry shakes her head.

"You aren't a burden. Don't call yourself that! If you don't want automail, that's fine, but if you'll let me help you I will!" Winry insists eagerly.

My smile grows wider and I sigh. "Well, alright…" I say, looking back at her. "I bet I can handle the pain too. My legs are a bit, uh, used to hurting by now…"

"You'll change your mind soon enough." Winry warns me. "Automail surgery is painful stuff and it takes about three years to recover from."

I shrug. "I bet I can do it in two." I say. I wasn't exactly fit enough to do it in one year like Ed did. He had loads of physical training with Izumi and had a huge motivation. I was a, what could you call me…? Cushy little white girl that had been bedridden for half my life. I'll probably struggle. "But as you've said, we'll see if that changes."

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><p>Automail surgery sucks. I won't go into details, but welding metal and nerve endings to wires and steel really fucking hurt. Imagine, say, having your arms sliced open and having someone stab <em>every single part of your flesh with white hot needles.<em> Yeah. Not freaking fun. Not to mention they had to amputate more parts of my legs to get the ports in the right place. Needless to say, that sucked too. But it was worth it because then I could walk. I just had to get used to it.

…

Winry helps me take small steps, letting me lean on her for support.

"Go slow." She warns me as I get ahead of myself.

I nod and concentrate on keeping a slow pace. "Can I look at myself in a mirror?" I ask.

"Sure. C'mon." Winry says with a small smile as she patiently helps me to her room.

I couldn't stand alone, so I just leaned on her. Staring into the mirror, I made note of how I had changed. It had been a month since I arrived here, and this was the first time I even thought about checking to see how I looked.

I was wearing a pair of violet glasses, thank you Winry, and my eyes were the same dark blue as always. Honey-blonde hair that went down past my shoulders, cut to have straight ends, and I was pale. You probably could guess why I was pale. I frowned as I looked at my skin. Since I was wearing a tank top and short shorts, I could very clearly see the white and pink scars that snaked up my legs like fire. The remainders of the illness and automail surgery, I suppose. The automail scars were pinker and more irritated, and it wasn't a pleasant sight.

"I guess my days of wearing shorts in public is over…" I mutter with a depressed tone.

"It's not that bad." Winry assures me, although it didn't really help. "At least your automail is cool."

I sigh and nod. "Yes, at least my automail is cool. You did a good job." I watch Winry's smile widen at the comment, so I smile too. I shouldn't get upset about scars. Appearance doesn't matter!

…

I walked around on my own for the first time. It took me six months for my legs to get used to putting pressure on the cold metal. Winry and Pinako had made it clear that I was not to go up or down the stairs on my own, so I followed their rule. I didn't want to break my neck or anything. I already cough blood up every once in a while from straining myself, so I didn't need more injuries.

After walking around for a while, I went to the room that I always slept in. Sitting down on my bed, I sighed and stared out the window. Things weren't really boring around here. I would always help make dinner or wash clothes and dishes, and I discussed things with Winry. I told her about things from my world, disguising them as simple dreams. "A box that contains all the information in the world? Your dreams are so interesting!" Winry had said when I talked about computers. Or when I talked about our cellphones and microwaves, all sorts of things. She'd listen carefully about the neat machines and would mention on how the way I talked about it was so detailed that she'd question if it really was a dream.

We talked about girl things and fun things and I would practice walking and getting fit again. Things were simple here. But also complex.

…

I got to go down the stairs today. Winry helped me up and down a few times, then I got to try on my own. It was difficult, and I had to make sure to go very slowly, but I did it. I've been here for eleven months, and I've finally gotten used to walking. Now that I can walk I need to learn to run. I have enough time to learn how as well. I might as well start learning how to defend myself as well. If I'm going to tag around with Ed and Al, I **have** to learn how. I wonder if things will go my way…

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><p><strong>Chapter 1, done! I really hope you like this! To clear up some things, Cheryl is the o.c.'s name (It was only mentioned once XD). At the beginning she's about 13 years old, by next chapter she'll be 15. There's a lot of time skipping going around, so keep that in mind. Also, if you want a pairing in this say so in a review!<strong>


	2. And they're here!

**Hello people reading this! Here's the next chapter of Second Chance! I hope you enjoy it and I apologize for my newbie writing and I'm writing most of this at school, too. Stuff's tough. By the way… My good friend told me that she wants to see this being CherylxEd… What do you think? I can't decide. I **_**suck **_**at deciding these things because someone has already said something about it being CherylxAl, and I sorta was going for a no pairing story… I dunno. This is just the beginning after all**

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><p>I sigh, sitting in front of a mirror. I was following my usual routine of wake up, brush hair and teeth, do my exercises, etc. etc…<p>

Carelessly brushing out the knots in my hair, I think about what was going on in my life. It had been just about 18 months since I came here, and I had gotten pretty used to my automail. I could walk and jog, and I was getting much better at running. I could go up and down stairs a lot easier than I used to, but I wasn't graceful and the way I walked was a bit awkward if you looked real hard, but things were good. I couldn't jump quite yet. Doing so put too much pressure and force on my automail and it really hurt, so I'm gonna hold off on that for now.

In my spare time I tried to learn alchemy. Tough shtuff, but I figured that I should at least _try_ to learn it. I was in Amestris, every fangirl's dream! Of course I was going to try! I could do clap transmutations due to my experience in the Gate, but I only had a basic understanding. Think about it this way… When Ed and Al were at the Gate, they were already at level ninety. The Gate's information boosted them to one hundred! I, however, started at zero and was boosted to three. I could sometimes turn dirt into tiny lumpy statues if I tried hard enough. Woop-dee-do. And I couldn't really get better at it since I didn't have a teacher and I wasn't exactly the smartest person in the world. I had a beginner's alchemy book that I got from a little bookstore in town. At least it was something (cue a tiny _I Tried_ rainbow over my head).

Winry wasn't all that happy when I told her about my interest in the subject. I guessed that she didn't want another "alchemy freak" around… Oh well!

With a sigh, I put down the brush and I stand up. I walk out of my bedroom and down the stairs, and over to the front door. "I'm going out!" I yell before I leave.

"Okay! Don't go out too far!" Winry yelled back from somewhere inside the house.

I smiled and walked out the door, heading for my place of relaxation and practice. There's a river about a mile away from the house, and I go there whenever I get the chance. The walk is long and it's usually hot, but the river is nice to watch. I like to practice drawing arrays in the soft dirt near the water, but I'm not that great at making the circles, but I mostly just practice the clapping transmutations. They're easier since I don't have to consciously think of all the little runes and shapes and stuff in a transmutation circle, but I still have to remember the equation and what elements I'm transmuting so it's still fairly difficult.

Alchemy is hard, kids! Lots of math 'n stuff.

It took me about an hour to get to the river, and my legs hurt from walking as usual. Sitting down in the shade of a tree near the bank, I sigh.

I haven't really thought about my whole situation a bunch since it stressed me out, but now I was getting stressed not thinking about it. The Elric brothers will show up in a few months, and I didn't have a clue how to go about getting them to trust me or anything. Al would probably be easy to befriend since he's so nice, but if I'm not careful Edward will probably get suspicious of me and my behavior. I'm secretive, and from what I could tell he isn't a big fan of secretive people. But I'm going to have to tag along with them whether they want me to or not.

Another sigh.

"I haven't even started and it's already tough…" I mutter as I pick up a small stone that was sitting next to me. I look at it and frown, then I hurl it into the water. After a while of resting, I get up and ready myself for exercise. Stretching and running, what fun…

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><p>I sit up in my bed, feeling a bit jittery as I put on my glasses.<p>

It's been a bit over two years. I have been in Amestris and stayed with the Rockbells a bit more than two years. I've gotten used to my automail now, I still suck at alchemy, and I'm pretty sure Edward and Alphonse are coming here soon. Like, soon-soon. I honestly can't put into words how nervous I am about this, so I'm hoping things will go okay.

So, to distract myself from my ever-present nervousness, I continued with my regular schedule. I dress up in some tan capris that showed off my awesome automail but hid my ugly scars and a simple blue t-shirt, then I head downstairs. I was pretty hungry and my hair wasn't _that _much of a mess… well it was, but I didn't care… anyways I just wanted a nice snack before I went out to my place by the river.

I hummed a tune to myself as I ate a few cookies, Pinako and I made them a few days ago, then I went for the door.

"I'm goin' out." I tell Pinako as I pass her.

"This early? Be careful…" She says as Den trots up next to her.

"Mm-hmm. I will." I smile as I head out.

And without another word I dash off the patio, down the dirt path, and towards the river.I liked to run and move and be free. It's been about a year and a half since I've been bound to a bed, y'know… automail surgery does that… but now I'm sorta free! It's great being mobile and full of motion, and I derped around with alchemy to make myself little figurines of anime characters. They sucked… Like, the faces were completely screwed up, but it was fun. I sort of know how to transmute cloth and stone now, but as I have made clear before, I suck at it! But who cares!? I've mostly given up on the arrays, though. They're not as convenient as the clapping transmutations, and I'm not very good at making the shapes and stuff…

I skid to a stop at the top of a small hill part of the path, because I could see somebody walking down the path. My jaw dropped. Although they were far away, I recognized the familiar red coat and the big muscle-man carrying a crate with a certain suit of armor inside. I was about to go towards them, but I noticed the noise of a hoof scratching the ground. I glanced behind me and saw a fluffy ram glaring straight at me.

"Oh…? Hey there, sheep. What are you doing out here?" I muttered, recognizing the ram as one from the pasture near here. "Oh… Oh, it looks _mad_. Cheryl, stop staring and run!"

It charges at me, and I make a pathetic screaming noise in my surprise. "AH!" I yelp as I leap to the side to avoid it. "What the hell did I do to you!?" I wince as I land since I wasn't 100% good with jumping, but I prepare myself for its next charge. Now, you may be thinking that I'm being a wuss, and you are kind of right, but that sheep has sharp looking horns and I don't fancy being impaled. Well… that's a bit extreme. It probably can't impale me with those lil' horns, right? But it can still hurt me, and I don't wanna get hurt.

"Crapcrapcrapcrap!" I mutter as I run down the slope. Ed and Armstrong must have noticed my… ehem… problem, because they were moving at a faster pace. My cheeks reddened slightly from embarrassment. I must have looked so weird, running from an angry ram that I have named Mister Sheep while screaming like an idiot.

Ah, oh well. It can't hurt to be a bit more weird, eh?

"Hey!" Ed yells as I dash behind him to hide from Mister Sheep. "Don't use me as a shield!"

"Woah, look out!" I yelp as I pull him out of the way, and the sheep ran past us. "Whew! Hello!"

The short blonde gives me a strange look, and then I got knocked over onto my face.

"What the fuck, Mister Sheep!? I thought we were cool!" I whine as I roll to the side to dodge it again. I then push myself off the ground and watch Armstrong stop it with one hand. The ram bleated and ran away, probably afraid of the big man. "Ooh, thanks! I thought it was gonna kill me or something…" I blink and mentally facepalm. I bet I looked insane. My hair was all over the place, my clothes were now dirty, and I was barefoot. Aw, crap I forgot to put on my shoes…

"Are you okay…?" Ed asks warily.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine." I say nonchalantly as if I didn't just make a complete fool of myself. "Sorry for using you as a shield, E…hhhhh… What's your name?" I stopped myself from blurting his name out just in time!

"Uh… I'm Edward Elric." He responds. "And… yeah, don't use me as a shield."

"Eheh…" I chuckle nervously before looking at Armstrong. "And thank you for stopping Mister Sheep!"

"It was no problem!" He proclaims with pride. "And I am Alex Louis Armstrong!"  
>I grin and look at Al, who was really quiet. I guessed that he didn't want me to know that he was hollow and was pretending just to be armor. I'll play along for now.<p>

"Well I'm Cheryl Oakes!" I say cheerfully, privately hoping that he wouldn't strip. I was hiding my embarrassment behind my cheerfulness. "It's nice to meetcha!"

Edward looks at me carefully. "I've never seen you around here before." He observes.

I pout. "I'm not from around here… I've never seen you around either though." I reply.

"I've been traveling. Well, we've got to go! C'mon Major." Ed says as he starts up the slope. I noticed that one of his jacket sleeves was empty, and I remembered that he's here because his automail arm got blown off by Scar… Right? I didn't remember the story that well anymore since it's been so long.

"Where are you going?" I ask as I start to follow them.

"To a friend's house." Ed answers simply.

"Who's your friend?" I asked, though I did already know the answer.

"Winry Rockbell. If you've been here long enough then odds are you know her." He says.

"Well, yeah. I've been living with her and Pinako for two years…" I mutter.

"What, really? How come?" Ed asks me, his tone sounding much more curious now.

"Uh… 'Cause of these." I say with a bland tone. Ed turns to look at me, and I point at my automail.

He frowns and turns around again. I was glad he didn't ask about that since I didn't want to have to make up any lies.

Things were quiet from then on, and I zoned out while walking. I _was _going to the river, but c'mon. Edward Elric, Major Armstrong, and Alphonse Elric (he still wasn't talking. Oh Al. You think you're fooling me!) are right here! No sane fan would walk away to do their thing.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Ed's yelling. I looked to my side to see him on the ground and a wrench right next to him. Of course. I smile though as I listen to her welcome him and Al home.

…

I hung around outside while they got all caught up and stuff, just thinking about random things as usual. I was absentmindedly doodling transmutation circles into the dirt with a stick, but they weren't that great. I frowned as I looked at one. I had drawn a picture of a cake inside one of them for some reason. I guess I should eat something…

"That's an interesting transmutation circle you've made there." An amused voice commented behind me.

I gasped and turned around to look up at Ed, who was smiling slightly. I observed that his automail leg was different since Pinako was fixing that up too. Winry was working on his new arm now then.

"Yeah, well…" I grin awkwardly. "I'm bored."

"Are you an alchemist, or are you just doodling?" Edward questions me.

I rub the back of my neck, trying to find the words to use. I'm sure you would have guessed this, but I am not very social. I'm no good at talking to people, and especially not the person I've fangirled over for so long! "Well, if you could call me an alchemist, sure. I'm not really all that good at alchemy." I admit.

Ed raises an eyebrow and hobbles down the stairs to sit on the bottom step.

"You can improve if you make the circles better." He says, observing the circle I paid most attention to when I drew it. "And don't rush it. Alchemy is dangerous and you shouldn't do it unless you really get it."

"I guess so…" I mumble. I was kind of hoping that he wouldn't go into an explanation of what I was doing wrong. I always did stuff on my own since I got embarrassed whenever flaws were pointed out, so this was making me uncomfortable. "I kinda need to learn it though."

"You need to learn it? Any reason why?" Ed asks.

I bob my head from side to side as I shift my hands back to reposition myself. "I've lost something and I need to get back to it." I answer vaguely. "And I think alchemy can fix this problem since it started it…"

Before he could respond, I stood up and walked up the stairs. "I'm going to go get something to eat." I mutter as I walk back into the house. Once inside, I shiver. I couldn't believe that happened. I really didn't expect him to talk to me, although he really was just talking about alchemy, but still!

So to get my mind off that I went to the kitchen to retrieve some more cookies. They're sugar cookies, by the way. Apparently chocolate chip hasn't been invented yet, which sucks because they're my favorite. I'll have to remember to invent them here.

I wanted to go find where Alphonse was. He was my favorite character tied with Ed. It felt wrong to refer to them as characters though because now I knew that they are real, live people. Not just pictures and words in a book anymore. Nibbling on the edge of a cookie, I contemplate this. They really are real…

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><p><strong>Chapter two, complete! I still have no clue what I'm doing with this XD I really have fun writing though, even if it's not that great.<strong>

**Well… Make sure to review!**


	3. Things are starting to go!

**Thanks for all the reviews! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! And I have decided on what to do for this story. You'll get the gist of it eventually. Also, a little note… I'm sure you've noticed that the way I write is heavy on the dialogue and light on the descriptions, and I'm kinda sorry about that. I'm going to try to put in descriptive things whenever possible. So… Here's the next chapter!**

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><p>After finishing most of my cookies, I look for Al. Nibbling on the edges of one of the cookies, I search the house. Finding nothing, I move outside where I found him leaning against the side of the house. I guess he put out here so that he wouldn't get too bored.<p>

"Hello!" I greet him cheerfully as I plop in front of the broken armor. After getting no response, I sigh "Quit being so quiet, jeez! You aren't fooling me you know."

The red glowing orbs he has for eyes blink. "How could you tell that I'm-"He starts.

"MAGIC!" I interrupt with a huge smile, throwing my hands up into the air. "Nah, not really! Your eyes are glowing and I figured you were a living thing." I decided to joke around with him a bit. Ed was super intimidating and would be able to tell I was not normal, but from what I know Al was sweet and not mean like his big brother.

"Oh… Um…" He stammers.

"Soooo… What's your name?" I ask, though I already knew his name. "I never got to ask 'cause you were trying to be a ninja."

"A ninja…? Uh, I'm Alphonse Elric, Ed's little brother." He tells me, a bit awkwardly at that.

"Nice to meet you Alphonse!" I chirp as I eat half of my cookie. He stares at me for a while, then looks down at the ground.

"Um… aren't you afraid of me?" He asks timidly.

"Why would I be?" I respond to his question with a question. I tilt my head to the side and give him a warm smile. My glasses started to slide down, so I pushed them up. "You haven't been mean or anything, so I've got no reason to be afraid."

"I figured you'd be scared because I'm hollow…" He explains. I noticed that his voice got significantly happier after I told him that I wasn't afraid of him.

I grin and lean against the house, stretching my legs a bit.

"Naw, that'd be silly. Being scared of you just 'cause you're different? That would be crazy." I tell him. To be honest, I would have been pretty spooked out by him if I hadn't of known about his condition beforehand. But that is my secret, and I want to make a good impression. "So, wanna talk about anything? It gets pretty boring around here, but I'm sure you're already aware of that."

Al looks at me. "Yeah it does… Um, sure we can talk, I guess." He responds. "Er… Uh… So, you said you've been staying with Winry and Granny."

I nod. "Yup. They're nice people." I say as I hug my knees to my chest. I rest my chin on my knees and continue eating my cookies. "I really appreciate everything they've done for me. I owe them big time."

A gentle breeze blows by, pushing my hair into my face. Frowning slightly, I push it away. I heard a clacking noise, and I guessed that Al was moving his head… helmet… whatever. I sigh and stretch my legs out, staring down at my automail.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your legs?" Al asked.

I shrug. "I don't really like to talk about it." I reply. "Not one of my better memories…"

There was a moment of awkward silence, I spoke up. "So, your soul is bound to that armor right?" I ask, using that question to lead to a different one. "What's it like? You can't eat or anything, right? No mouth…"

Al nods. "Yeah. I can't sleep or anything like that either. But, how did you know my soul was bound to this armor…?"

I glance at him. "I read a lot about alchemy." I say, which was a partial lie. I did read a lot about alchemy, yes, but I had the knowledge beforehand.

"Oh. Are you an alchemist?" Alphonse asks, showing new interest.

"Eh, sort of. I'm not too great at it." I mutter. "Alchemy is really hard stuff. I'll get better eventually though!"  
>"Would you like a few tips? I could help you a bit if you want me to." Al offers. "I don't really have anything else to do other than sit around."<p>

I shake my head. "I can figure it out on my own. I usually don't learn well from other people 'cause I get super nervous and stuff." I chuckle. "I get embarrassed easily and if I made a mistake I'd probably shut down."

"Oh… Well you wouldn't have to be nervous. Alchemy is hard to learn so I couldn't exactly blame you for making a mistake." Alphonse points out.

"Yeah… You're right, I guess…" I mumble as I change my position so that I was sitting cross-legged. I rested my elbows on my knees, and my cheeks in my hands. "So, um… Hey, do you like cats?"

So a new conversation started and we talked about cats and… mostly just about cats. This sounds strange, but we talked about them for a few hours.

"I saw a cat that had different colored eyes once!" I say as I draw a picture of a kitten in the dirt. "It's called, um… Hetero- Heterochromia. Chrom meaning color and hetero meaning… different things or something." That was how I remembered words like that. Learn the root, learn the meaning.

"Was it cute?" Al asks.

"Of course it was cute!" I grin. "Pretty much all cats are cute! Except the hairless ones. Those are cool, not cute."

I heard hobbling footsteps, and I looked to my right. Ed came around the corner, moving a bit strangely since he wasn't used to the backup leg yet. He looks at me, then at Al.

"Thought I heard you two talking out here." He muttered.

I tense up slightly, feeling nervous all of a sudden. I don't know why, but for some reason something about him makes me feel uncomfortable. So, being the dumbass I am, I decide to make a stupid joke.

"If Ed were a cat he'd be a munchkin." I whisper to Al.

He laughs quietly, but Ed didn't find it very funny.

"What the hell did you say!?" He growls.

"Nothing at all." I say in a singsong voice as I stand up.

He walks towards me, teeth gritting in agitation, and I squeak.

"Did you call me little!?" Ed asks angrily as he looks down at me. Yes, he is looking down at me. I'm short, 'kay?

I chuckle nervously and inch away. "Well, yeah, but- Eep!" I dart to the side to avoid an awkward kick.

"Brother!" Al exclaims in shock. "Don't attack her!"

"I'M NOT SHORT!" Ed roars as I hop backwards to get away.

A land on a patch of dirt, and my automail scratches against a rock. I wince at the landing; I had put too much pressure on my legs when I jumped.

"Woah, hey, calm down!" I yelp as he stalks towards me. "U-um, you're taller than me so it isn't like my comment meant anything!"

He stops raging to stare at me. "What?" He says, narrowing his amazing, golden eyes at me. He scared the living crap outta me, but I cannot deny that Edward's eyes are awesome. They're much more interesting to look at in person, and even though everything here looked like it was still drawn in anime everything looked more realistic than what I remembered. Oh, but now is not the time for me to be thinking about those things.

"You're taller than me by a few inches." I mumble as I look at the ground, my face turning red. I was easily embarrassed, and this was making me feel uncomfortable since I was habitually imagining... things... for some reason. "This is as tall as I'll ever get, too…"

I look up to see Ed right in front of me with a steadily brightening expression.

"I _am_ taller than you!" He says as he compares our heights. "Aha, you're a shrimp!"

I scowl and glare at him. "Hey, that's mean! And I prefer the term _fun-sized_." I turn away and cross my arms. "Or concentrated awesome."

"Okay, wait! How old are you!?" Ed presses, annoying me further.

"I'm fifteen." I mumble, and I hear him make a happy noise as he celebrates being taller than someone. I whip around to glare at him. "I'm only this short because I was bedridden for, like, five years! Quit being a jerk!" There was another reason too. Since I had arrived here in Resembool when I was 13, I was nearing my growth spurt… Well, I should have. I actually haven't hit it yet, or started my, er, lady thing. A main reason was that I've only been eating one kind of food while I was here. Milk, and almost nothing else, so I barely got the nutrients I needed for growth. [1]

I watch him stop, and I tilt my head to the side, keeping my glare in place. "And it's kind of hard for me to get taller when half of my legs are made of metal. Not too much to grow."

"You were stuck in bed for five years?" Alphonse says quietly, figuring out that it wasn't just for recovering from automail surgery. That would be seven years of my life I have been incapacitated and/or bedridden. So… almost half my life at the moment.

"Um, yep." I mutter, suddenly feeling the need to get away from here. I was still all jittery and nervous about seeing my favorite anime charact bj ers in what I assumed was real life, and while the feeling had been suppressed for a while it had now resurfaced. "Erm, gotta go, bye!"

I squeak in embarrassment and dart past Ed and to the house.

**(No one's POV)**

Ed watched her leave with mild confusion. He glanced at Al, who also seemed to be confused.

"Maybe she shouldn't have made that joke." Al muttered under his breath (metaphorically, I suppose).

"Well that was weird." Ed said as he leaned against the house, frowning slightly. "The way she acted was strange."

Al nodded in agreement, his helmet clacking against metal as he moved. "She wasn't acting like that a while ago… Not around me, really. I've noticed that she doesn't seem to like being around you." He recalled, thinking about her behavior.

"Maybe I intimidate her?" Ed mused as he stood up straight. "She kinda seemed nervous earlier when I talked to her."

"I'm sure it's more than that." Al said after a moment. "Well… Maybe. I wonder why."

A small crackle of gravel came from around the house, and Ed looked back for a moment. He heard a small "eep!" and caught a glimpse of honey-blonde hair, raising some suspicion. He sighed and looked back at Alphonse.

"No clue." Ed said, shrugging. He sighed and lifted his left leg, then tapped the ground a few times. "I'm going to go get something to eat. D'you need anything, Al?"

"Um… I'd say something to read but I can't exactly hold a book right now." Al chuckled. "I'm good."

The older brother smiles and nods, then he turns around to leave.

**(Cheryl's POV)**

I watch Ed and Al, listening in. I guess I seemed pretty weird to them just now, so naturally I was a bit flushed. I have to stop being a dork in front of other people, especially not in front of these two!

So as I was watching them, I couldn't really hear what they were saying so I inched forwards a bit. Then, with my crappy luck, I stepped on a little patch of gravel and dirt. It crunched, and I jolted in surprise when Ed glanced back.

"Eep!" I yelp quietly before ducking behind the house. I press my back against the stone base and yellow planks of the house, and I sigh. "Did he see me…?" I must seem creepy now… Oh I always find a way to embarrass myself. A few seconds pass, and Ed walks around the corner of the house.

"Ohmygosh!" I jolt in surprise, and he looks at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you okay…?" He asks slowly as he stops.

I nod, showing a weak and awkward grin. "Yep, I'm fine. I just didn't expect you to show up like that." I mutter as an excuse.

He shrugs and continues walking, and I watch him slowly hobble into the house. I noticed how uncomfortable it looked for him to be using a spare leg, so I made a mental note to take good care of my automail. Not that I didn't already try to take good care of it…

I stare in Al's general direction, and then I sigh. "Hey Al, I'm going to go on a walk. I'll talk to you later, though!" I inform him as I peek around the house.

"Okay." He said absentmindedly. I guessed from his tone that he was thinking about something, so I left before I could bother him.

I walk through one of the grassy fields that are all over Resembool on my way to my river hideout. I was now wearing boots so that I wouldn't screw up any of the parts of my automail. I'd gotten a weed stuck in the ankle part once before, and it took forever for me to get all of it out. I was terrified for two days afterwards that Winry would bludgeon me to death with a wrench, but thankfully I never had to experience that. Maybe she only smacks Ed with the wrench…

Well no. I barely remembered the story now, but I did recall her smacking Ling with a wrench in the manga about something. And Al for… Hm, well I can't remember why for that. I'll come across it eventually, I guess.

Another thing comes to my mind as I sit down by the riverbank, now at my destination. Which one was I in…? Manga or anime version.

"Eh… Ed and Al are here right now… And it seems fairly early in the story… I think that whatshisname… Scar, blew Edward's arm off and blew Al up… So, Brotherhood I guess." I mumble to myself as I stare at the water. The flow seemed slower than usual today, but that made it look clearer and shimmery. It looked nice, and I leaned against a large rock embedded in the bank. The scent of the clean country air, and the calming sounds of the flowing river relaxed me.

I close my eyes and l reposition myself so that the cool stone pressed against my neck. It was times like this that made me happy to be here, but I missed my dad terribly, though I don't care about my mother at all since we never got along. Hell, we downright hated each other. I'd always wondered why she had avoided drinking and smoking and all that unhealthy crap when I was still a freaking fetus. Or why I wasn't aborted. She outright told me when I was little that I was an accident that never should have happened, so that added confusion. I don't care much though since I probably won't see her again.

Yawning, I stretch my arms and legs then relax again. Things felt nice…

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><p>I slowly woke up, opening my eyes to see that the sky was a brilliant orange color and that the sun was sinking. Long shadows were cast around me, and I could tell that it was definitely getting darker.<p>

"Aw balls." I mutter under my breath as I quickly stand up, blinking when I get dizzy. "Gotta get home before it gets too late…"

I spin around on the heel of my left boot and I start jogging, keeping a slow but steady pace so that I don't tire ruin something. I was still fairly out of shape and Pinako had warned me last week not to push myself or I could collapse from the stress. I dunno much about how automail recovery works, so I figured I could at least pull off some running.

Halfway there I began to pick up my pace. The sky was transitioning from brilliant orange to dark violet, and now I could barely see the sun. I hoped that I wasn't worrying anyone since I was almost always back before sundown.

More running, slowing down so that I don't hurt myself, and eventually I could see the lights of the house. I run up the front stairs onto the patio and to the front door, but before I could put my hand on the knob it opened. Winry stepped out, then looked at me in surprise.

"You're back! I was just about to go look for you." She tells me as she held the door open.

I chuckle nervously. "I fell asleep." I say, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly.

She looks me up and down, then puts her hands on her hips. "I can see that. You're all dirty!" She points out, frowning slightly. "You didn't get your automail gunked up, did you?"

I quickly shake my head. "I was wearing boots, so my automail is all good!" I replied. A cool breeze blew by, and I shivered. "Can we go inside?"

"Mm-hm. Dinner is almost ready so you'd better wash up." Winry smiles as we walk inside. She stops after I close the door behind us, and she turns to me. "And I'm glad you're okay. It would be bad if you strained yourself and collapsed or something."

I nod, smiling softly, then I run upstairs to go take a quick shower.

I didn't pay much attention during dinner. I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to listen to the conversations going on, though I was going to listen a bit.

"Drink your milk!" Winry shouted at Ed.

"No way! That stuff is disgusting!" Ed shot back.

I smiled a bit and I started listening more.

"You're going to stay tiny forever if you don't drink it!"

"No I won't!"

I laughed quietly. "Winry, if that were true I'd be a bit taller by now." I pipe up. She glares at me.

"You drink nothing but milk so you don't get the nutrients you need to grow!" She says in irritation.

"Aha! So milk can make you shorter!" Ed exclaims as he pushes the glass away.

"I'll drink your milk for you!" I offer to Ed, grinning.

"I don't know how you can drink that crap, but sure." He mutters as I reach for the glass, but Winry pushed my hand down.

"No. Eat some of your dinner." She says.

I cross my arms and look down. "I don't like eating. I'm afraid I'll get fat."

"You're afraid you'll get fat?" Ed echoes.

I nod. "I have to rest a whole lot since I'm still sorta recovering from automail surgery. And before then I had been sick for a long time. If I get too stressed or move too much I'll get hurt, so whenever I eat too much I can't exercise to get fit." I say.

"That isn't an excuse! You need to eat!" Winry presses. "You won't get fat from eating anyways! You will get fat from the obscene amount of junk food you eat though!"

I frown. "I don't eat that much junk food. Do cookies even count as junk food?"

Our conversation continued until Winry had finally gotten me to eat my dinner. I had stopped talking to consider what my fears about getting fat were. I didn't care about my image. It was mostly concern over health. Since I was small, I would be more prone to getting heart related problems. And getting chubby wouldn't help with that at all. I did know that not eating would still cause problems for me, but… I don't know. I guess I'll have to get over it.

"Hey, so where is Ed going to sleep tonight?" I ask as I stare at a pea. I dislike peas…

"In your room, I guess. Since you stay in the guest room, there's not really any other choice." Winry said.

"So we're going to sleep in the same room?" I say as my mind wanders to a strange place, and my cheeks turn pink slightly.

"Well there's two beds in there, so it'll be okay." Winry reminds me.

"Oh, right." I mutter…

And things continued. Of course... The night, and the next day, held new activities.

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><p><strong>[1] Real life problem for me. Milk is my absolute favorite thing, and I'd pretty much only drink that and barely eat anything else. I am permanently 5 feet tall because of this. My growth spurt SUUUUCCCCKKKKEEEEDDDDDDD.<strong>

**Sorry it took so long! I've been... having school difficulties. So you guys get to learn a bit more about Cheryl here. She doesn't have any eating disorders to clear things up a bit. She is just wary about her health since she never wants to be confined to a bed for any reason ever again.**

**This is a bit of info about her: I've read so many stories like this where the girl that has been thrown into Amestris is a sassy, spit-fire badass, so I figured things should be a _lil'_ bit different from the normal insert-girl here. Cheryl is a lot different from that. She's physically weak from whatever the hell she had back in her world, she's shy and easily embarrassed, and is somewhat random with her emotions. IDK... I'm sorta just coming up with this as I go along XD**


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